1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention are related to the field of orthopedic supports, and more particularly, to orthopedic supports having one or more hinges for increasing mobility and/or support for the wearer during use.
2. Description of Related Art
Stays or splints are commonly employed with orthopedic supports to stabilize or immobilize a joint of a wearer. Stays may be rigid for providing more support or relatively flexible for providing mobility, and frequently stays are used to support the medial and lateral sides of the joint. For instance, the medial and lateral sides of the knee commonly need to be supported due to the frequent injuries incurred from lateral forces applied to the knee. Stays may be utilized to prevent injury of the knee or to rehabilitate the knee caused by a prior injury.
While stays may be used to provide lateral stability, providing too much stability sacrifices comfort and mobility for the wearer. As a result, techniques have been developed to provide support on the medial and lateral sides of the joint, while also providing some degree of mobility. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,207 to Vargo discloses a knee brace having vertical shafts that are connected with a journal “at a point corresponding to the point at which the human knee flexes” (See FIG. 7). The vertical shafts are positioned on the medial and lateral sides of the knee and are attached to support straps. A support strap is positioned about the wearer's thigh and calf, respectively, and is used to support a pair of vertical shafts on each of the medial and lateral sides of the knee.
Furthermore, the knee joint does not simply pivot about a single axis, as the pivot axis shifts to different positions during flexion and extension. Therefore, hinges that provide only a single axis of rotation may unduly hinder the range of motion of the knee. Some hinges, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,538 to Mann provides a pair of pivot points, where each portion of the hinge support element pivots about the hinge. The hinge support element is capable of being inserted within a respective pocket. In addition, a bladder may also be inserted within each pocket along with the hinge support element.
Despite these improvements in providing stability for a joint while allowing for some degree of mobility, additional innovations in orthopedic supports to promote better comfort and/or support for the wearer are also desired. In particular, although techniques have been developed to connect stays, there is a need for stays that are easier to interconnect and more economical to manufacture. Furthermore, interconnected stays having a low profile that provide both flexibility and support without limiting the functionality of the support are desired.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide an orthopedic support that imparts increased comfort and/or support for the wearer without sacrificing mobility. In addition, it would be advantageous to provide an orthopedic support that includes interconnected stays that may be easily manufactured and used for various orthopedic applications.